Gaming Commission ready to issue request for casino applications

Potential commercial casino developers in southeastern Massachusetts will have until Sept. 30 to file the first phase of their applications. The Massachusetts Gaming Commission decided on the timeline Thursday and will issue the initial request for applications June 2.

Any commercial applicant is required to pay a non-refundable $400,000 application fee. A casino license could be awarded in October 2014, more than seven months after the targeted date to award licenses in other regions of the state.

The timeline for licensing a commercial casino in southeastern Massachusetts, or Region C, differs significantly from the rest of the state. The 2011 state law that legalized casino gambling allows for up to one commercial casino in each of three regions of Massachusetts. Commercial applicants, however, were frozen out of Region C, where the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe hopes to build a tribal casino in Taunton through a federal process.

Amid growing concerns over the Mashpee’s ability to meet the land qualifications spelled out on the federal process, or that the process could take several years, the Gaming Commission voted last month to allow commercial applicants in Region C. Some expressed sentiments that while the tribe had exclusivity in Region C, the region was in limbo and risked falling behind other regions or missing out on the economic development they expect casino gambling to bring.

The Mashpee maintain that they are on track to have their federal land application approved expeditiously.

Gaming Commission members have said they would continue to monitor the tribe’s progress and weigh it against commercial applications.

While the Mashpee maintained exclusivity in Region C, commercial applications have been moving forward elsewhere in the state. Commercial casino applicants elsewhere in Massachusetts submitted applications in January. Reviews and background investigations have been underway for months.

The Gaming Commission had originally considered an Oct. 2 deadline for the first-phase applications in Region C, then Day suggested moving it up to Aug. 31.

Commission Ombudsman John Ziemba recalled previous feedback from a potential developer who said the schedule was already tight to line up funding. Such an effect, he said, could limit competition for the Region C license.

“We probably will be happy that we’ve added some days to that evaluation process,” Commission Chairman Crosby said.